Try the "Shadow of a Doubt" for an introduction to this show. If you like that one, see what else they have to offer. One of the best of the playhouse-style shows.

This was just one of the many great shows that was on the air and did a great time bring movies to the radio, but does anyone have the Cinderella episode? I have been trying to find it everywhere and have failed to find it.

Screen Director's Playhouse is one of the best old time radio show of all time

Maybe I don't get the appeal of these because I didn't live in these times. I listened to Stagecoach, and it reminded me of what Reader's Digest did for the novel. In 30 minutes all they could do was hit the high points of the plot and the nuances got left by the wayside.

A great show, I couldn't pick between this or The Lux Program.

In my opinion Screen Director's Playhouse truly is just as good at Lux Radio's Theater.

Top Three Matinee Theater Shows are

1. Lux Radio Theater/Screen Guild Theater (Tied)
2. Family Theater
3. Heartbeat Theater

Long before studios were concerned with making sure that their intellectual property was without reproach, there was a different attitude toward advertising their movies. Sure, spending an evening at the Picture Show was what might currently thought of as a night at the Opera. There was dinner, there was the show, along with shorts, newsreals, and the feature presentation. TV was just beginning to get it's legs at this point, but Radio was still king. And as such, the biggest stars of the Silver screen were asked to participate in these adaptations of their recent works for the listening pleasure of the audience in the comfort of their own home. Before recording devices, if you missed the show, you'd have to hear from friends or family that caught it what a wonderful story it was. And even if you did hear it, there was still that allure of the evening out that made you want to take your best girl to the show.

Nowadays, we have the DVD's, we have the VCR's, we have the TiVo's. And advertising has changed. We can catch these films any time we really like. But, there still is the allure of being able to close your eyes, tilt your head back and imagine, yes imagine, the scene. No special effect can match those that you can make in your own imagination. And as such, the stories come alive in ways that the TV's and DVD's no longer allow them to. They're not quite as special as the once were, up on the screen.

So take a journey, if you will, and maybe you might find a treasure in this list of presentations, some story you've never heard, or maybe a story you've seen a dozen times, they all take on that certain magic all over again.

The Playhouse is a treasure that, for all practical purposes should have been lost to the ravages of time, yet, thanks to the folks here at the Internet Archive, it's been given a second chance to live on. Listen, imagine, wonder, relax, but most of all, enjoy yourself. Let your mind wander to a simpler time, when stories were not meant to do anything other than make you feel wonderful.